&#34;Electronic Lighted Die&#34;

ABSTRACT

A device comprised of: a shell forming a chamber within the shell; a sphere allowed to freely rotate within the chamber of the shell and a display unit with multiple light sources within the sphere. The display unit is weighted such that light sources always face upward when the device comes to rest. When dropped, the display unit randomly illuminates at least one of the light sources to indicate a number, simulating the roll of a die.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority, in part, to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/915,111 filed Apr. 30, 2007.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the field of playing dice, and inparticular to the field of playing dice having an electronicallyilluminated display.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of one embodiment of the electroniclighted die according to the instant invention.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the electroniclighted die.

FIG. 3 shows a top view of the electronic circuit board assembly of oneembodiment of the display unit.

FIG. 4 shows a top view of one embodiment of the electronic lighted diewith light sources illuminated.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic of an exemplary embodiment of a circuit diagramfor microprocessor circuit.

BACKGROUND

Dice are used in various amusement games and games of chance.

Dice are available in a variety of different shapes and sizes. Thenumber of sides (facets or faces) on a die can range from as little asfour (4) to dozens, and the size of a die can vary widely, from the veryminute to the very large.

Conventional modern gaming dice are cubes having dots or other markingson their sides representing the numbers one (1) through six (6). Thedots are placed on respective die faces so that the sum of the dots onopposite sides is always seven (7). Thus, for example, the numbers one(1) and six (6) appear on opposite sides of the cube, two (2) isopposite five (5), and three (3) is opposite four (4). Typically, thedice are rolled across a surface and the number displayed on theupwardly facing facet of each cube once they came to rest has somesignificance or importance.

The advent of electronic circuitry and illuminable numeric displays foruse in conjunction, therewith, has created the opportunity to producemore advanced types of dice. Such “electronic dice” have been developedto increase the entertainment value and interest in using dice.

As used herein, the terms “die” and “dice” refer to any object capableof displaying a number. A die may have may have any number of sides orvisible surfaces.

As used herein, the term “microprocessor” shall refer to any element orsystem which may compute a random value, and cause the random value tobe displayed.

As used herein, the term “viscous liquid” shall refer to any substancehaving a measurable viscosity, for example water, oil or other fluid.

As used herein, the term “half-mirrored” shall refer to any element orsystem which partially reflects incident light on a surface whileallowing light from the other side of the surface to shine through. Thiseffect is also known as half-silvered mirror or two-way mirror.

As used herein, the term “face” means the viewable surface of a die orany object functioning as a die.

As used herein, the term “sphere” means a structural component whichencloses a display unit. A sphere may have a shape other than spherical,as this term refers to a functional structural component for encasing adisplay unit, including but not limited to a faceted ball, octagonal,square, rectangular, tetrahedron, hexahedron, octahedron, dodecahedron,icosahedrons, polyhedron, square, rectangular oval, pentagonal,hexagonal and combinations thereof.

As used herein the term “display unit” shall refer to any elementincludes a visible illuminated component, the configuration of which maybe variable and determined by a microprocessor. A display may includelights, graphical interfaces, reflective components, LED lights or anyother component capable of creating a viewable surface.

As used herein the term “spirits” shall refer ethanol, methanol proponalor any other alcohols.

As used herein the term “colloidal mixtures” shall refer to fluidscontaining undissolved substances such as other fluids or particles(e.g., glitter, gold flaxes, aluminum powder and oils).

As used herein the term “branding indicia” means trademarking, marking,printing, coloration or other indicia of brand.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the present invention,references are made in the text hereof to embodiments of an electroniclighted die, only some of which are depicted in the figures. It shouldnevertheless be understood that no limitations on the scope of theinvention are thereby intended. One of ordinary skill in the art willreadily appreciate that modifications such as the dimensions, size, andshape of the components, alternate but functionally similar materialsfrom which the an electronic lighted die is made, and the inclusion ofadditional elements are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one ofordinary skill in the art, and all equivalent relationships to thoseillustrated in the drawings and described in the written description donot depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Some ofthese possible modifications are mentioned in the following description.Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpretedas limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as arepresentative basis for teaching one of ordinary skill in the art toemploy the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailedapparatus or manner.

It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale,emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of theinvention. In addition, in the embodiments depicted herein, likereference numerals in the various drawings refer to identical or nearidentical structural elements.

Moreover, the term “substantially” or “approximately” as used herein maybe applied to modify any quantitative representation that couldpermissibly vary without resulting in a change in the basic function towhich it is related. For example, one embodiment of the electroniclighted die is disclosed herein as being a cube, i.e., six (6) sided.The electronic lighted die might permissibly be somewhat non-cubical orhave a number of sides other than six (6) and still be within the scopeof the invention if its functionality is not materially altered.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of oneembodiment of electronic lighted die 100 according to the instantinvention. In the embodiment shown, electronic lighted die 100 iscomprised of shell 110 (consisting of upper shell portion 110 a andlower shell portion 110 b), sphere 120 (including upper sphere portion120 a and lower sphere portion 120 b), display unit 130, and a viscousliquid 140 (not visible in this drawing). Display unit 130 is positionedwithin sphere 120. Sphere 120 is surrounded by viscous liquid 140.Viscous liquid 140 is contained within shell 110 to allow sphere 120 torotate freely within shell 110. In the embodiment shown, shell 110 isconfigured to form a six (6) sided chamber (in the shape of a die), intowhich the viscous liquid and sphere are positioned. However, asdiscussed infra, shell 110 may be produced in alternativeconfigurations, sizes and shapes which may be representational of otherobjects (e.g., a skull, a nugget, a diamond, a head, an automobile, ajack-o-lantern, a pumpkin, a snowman, Santa Claus, a cartoon character,a heart or any other shape or representation capable of being molded.)

In the embodiment shown, shell 110 is comprised of upper shell portion110 a and lower shell portion 110 b. Upper shell portion 110 a and mateswith lower shell portion 110 b to form shell 110. In the embodimentshown, upper shell portion 110 a and lower shell portion 110 b are eachthree (3) sides of a cube such that when mated with its counterpart theyform a six (6) sided cube. In other embodiments, upper shell portion 110a and lower shell portion 110 b may have different mating configurationsto conform to their molded shapes. It should be understood that in theembodiment shown, upper shell portion 110 a and lower shell portion 110b each have three (3) faces, but in other embodiments, the resultingshell 110, as provided supra, can have fewer or more faces, dimensions,sides or mated components. Furthermore, shell 110 can be formed by anynumber of components to achieve the desired number of faces. Forexample, six (6) individual pieces can be pieced together, three (3)L-shaped pieces can be fitted together, or a five (5) sided piece can bemated with a single sided piece.

In the embodiment of electronic lighted die 100 shown in FIG. 1, uppershell portion 110 a and lower shell portion 110 b are half-mirrored,allowing the display unit 130 to be visible (particularly whenilluminated). In the embodiment shown, upper shell portion 110 a andlower shell portion 110 b are clear, scratch-resistant plastics,composites or polymers, compatible with mirror coatings, compatible withgluing operations, and accept printing thereon. However, otherembodiments may not be scratch resistant, or may be alternate materialscapable of being molded or machined to form upper shell portion 110 aand lower shell portion 110 b

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the half-mirrored faces of uppershell portion 110 a and lower shell portion 110 b allow the lightscontained within electronic lighted die 100 (described in greater detailinfra) to be visible or apparent to a user, while minimizing theappearance of other components contained within shell 110.

It should be understood, however, that upper shell portion 110 a andlower shell portion 110 b need not be constructed of half-mirroredmaterial, but rather may be transparent, partially transparent, tinted,clouded, reflective, textured or treated with a material such as avarnish or film to produce a desired visual effect.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, upper shell portion 110 a and lowershell portion 110 b form a chamber to contain viscous liquid 140 whenmated and/or sealed together prevent viscous liquid 140 from escaping.In the embodiment shown, upper shell portion 110 a and lower shellportion 110 b, may be sealed by means commonly known and used in the art(i.e., ultrasonic weld or gluing operation) so as to form a chamber toeffectively contain a viscous liquid.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 1, includes a single shell 110. Otherembodiments may include multiple shells or layers of shells, formingvarious chambers of inner layers and compartments, which may or may notfunction to enclose viscous liquid 140.

Also visible in FIG. 1 is sphere 120. Sphere 120 is formed of two (2)upper sphere portion 120 a, and lower sphere portion 120 b which mate toform sphere 120. Sphere 120 may be made of any substantially orpartially transparent material that is capable of being molded to formupper sphere portion 120 a, and lower sphere portion 120 b which may beconnected or mated together. In the embodiment shown, upper sphereportion 120 a, and lower sphere portion 120 b are mated by anultra-sonic weld to form a substantially watertight sphere. It should beunderstood that upper sphere portion 120 a and lower sphere portion 120b can be made of any suitable material. Additionally, in otherembodiments, upper sphere portion 120 a, and lower sphere portion 120 bmay be of a shape that is other than spherical.

Display unit 130 is positioned within sphere 120, and sphere 120 and aviscous liquid 140 are contained within shell 110 to allow sphere 120 torotate freely within shell 110. The viscous liquid 140 maintains sphere120 positioned substantially within the center of the chamber formed byupper shell portion 110 a and lower shell portion 110 b. The viscousliquid 140 within shell 110 allows sphere 120 to rotate freely,positioning the center of gravity below the centerline of sphere 120 toensure that sphere 120 is always positioned with the display facingupward.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional side view of the embodiment of lighteddie 100. In this embodiment, shell 120 is surrounded by viscous liquid140 inside shell 110. Power source 133 being placed on the underside ofPCB 131 causes the center of gravity of sphere 120 to be below PCB 131.This arrangement causes the display side of PCB 131 containing lightsources 135 a-g to be displayed upward when sphere 120 is allowed tomove freely within liquid 140.

In the embodiment shown, sensor 137 activates microprocessor 132 whendropped. Thus, when electronic lighted die 100 is rolled or thrown,electronic lighted die 100 randomly generates a number between one (1)and six (6) (or another number if electronic lighted die 100 isprogrammed to simulate a die with an alternate number of faces) and showthe randomly generated number using the light sources 135 a-g positionedon PCB 131.

FIG. 3 shows a top view of the electronic circuit board assembly of oneembodiment of the display unit 130. In the embodiment shown, displayunit 130 is comprised of printed circuit board (PCB) 131, microprocessor132, power source 133 (as shown in FIG. 2), light sources 135 a-g, andsensor 137. Microprocessor 132, power source 133, and sensor 137 maypositioned on either the top surface or bottom surface of PCB 131. Lightsources 135 a-g are positioned on the top surface of PCB 131.

FIG. 4 illustrates a top view of one embodiment of display unit 130. Inthe embodiment shown, visible on display unit 130 a value of six (6), asrepresented by six (6) illuminated LED lights (i.e., light sources asdiscussed infra.). Light sources 135 a-f are clearly visible through thetop of shell 110 forming the display of the value six (6). In thisembodiment of lighted die 100, with shell 110 formed of half-mirroredmaterial, unlit light source 135 g, and other components of display unit130 are not visible.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic of one exemplary embodiment of a circuitdiagram for display unit 130. In the embodiment shown, microprocessor132 is a six (6) pin, eight (8) bit flash microcontroller, part numberPIC10F202 as manufactured by Microchip Technologies. However,microprocessor 132 can be any equivalent microprocessor 132 with similarcapabilities. Microprocessor 132 is activated when electronic lighteddie 100 dropped. When electronic lighted die 100 comes to a restmicroprocessor 132 randomly generates a number between one (1) and six(6). Microprocessor 132 then displays the resulting number byilluminating between one (1) and six (6) of light sources 135 a-g. Inthe embodiment shown, light sources 135 a-g are each a red LightEmitting Diode (LED), but can be any other light source commonly used inthe art.

Also visible in FIG. 5 is power source 133. In the embodiment, shownpower source 133 is a 3V, 230 mAh high energy lithium battery in abutton cell configuration. However, any alternate power source commonlyknown and used in the industry can be used. In the embodiment shown,power source 133 is mounted to the bottom of PCB 131. This creates acenter of gravity of display unit 130 below PCB 131, ensuring that whenrotated within the sphere (not shown) light sources 135 a-g will faceupward, allowing light sources 135 a-g to be viewed.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, light sources 135 a-g are LightEmitting Diodes (LED's). An LED has an anode (positive side) and acathode (negative side). Current flows easily from the anode, to thecathode, but not in the reverse direction. An LED can only operate whena greater voltage is applied to its anode than its cathode. When thevoltage of the anode is not greater than the cathode, the LED does notilluminate, and conducts substantially zero current. It is thereforepossible to construct a circuit using LED's wherein LED's may beselectively illuminated by applying various combinations of positivevoltage and ground to a matrix of LED's. An LED in the embodiment shownin FIG. 5 will only illuminate when a positive voltage is present on itsanode and a lower voltage or ground is present on its cathode. To createthe desired pattern of lit and unlit light sources 135 a-g,microprocessor 132 alternately applies positive voltage and ground toeach LED in the circuit shown in FIG. 5.

In the embodiment shown, after a predetermined time, microprocessor 132ceases displaying the desired pattern of lit and unlit light sources 135a-g. Microprocessor 132 subsequently powers down until electroniclighted die 100 is moved and sensor 137 activates microprocessor 132again.

While electronic lighted die 100 has been shown and described withrespect to several embodiments and uses in accordance with the presentinvention, it is to be understood that the same is not limited thereto,but is susceptible to numerous changes and modifications as known to aperson of ordinary skill in the art, and it is intended that the presentinvention not be limited to the details shown and described herein, butrather cover all such changes and modifications obvious to one ofordinary skill in the art.

1. An electronic lighted die comprised of: at least one outer shellcontaining a sphere; a display unit contained within said sphere, saiddisplay unit capable of displaying a random number within a definedrange generated by a microprocessor.
 2. The electronic lighted of claim1, wherein said at least one outer shell contains a viscous liquidsurrounding said sphere.
 3. The electronic lighted of claim 1, whereinsaid outer shell is half-mirrored.
 4. The electronic lighted of claim 1,wherein said outer shell has a surface treatment selected from a groupconsisting of transparent, partially transparent, tinted, clouded,reflective, a film, holographic treatment, embossing and any combinationthereof.
 5. The electronic lighted of claim 1, wherein said viscousliquid is selected from a group consisting of oil, water, spirits,tinted water, tinted oil, tinted spirits, colloidal mixtures and anycombination thereof.
 6. The electronic lighted die of claim 1, whereinsaid sphere has a surface selected from a group consisting oftransparent, partially transparent, tinted, clouded, reflective, a filmand any combination thereof.
 7. The electronic lighted die of claim 1,wherein said sphere has a shape selected from a group consisting of afaceted ball, octagonal, square, rectangular, tetrahedron, hexahedron,octahedron, dodecahedron, icosahedrons, polyhedron, square, rectangular,oval, pentagonal, hexagonal and combinations thereof.
 8. The electroniclighted die of claim 1, wherein said display unit has at least one lightsource for displaying said random number.
 9. The electronic lighted dieof claim 8 wherein said at least one light source are selected from thegroup consisting of light emitting diode, organic light emitting diode,electroluminescent display, incandescent lamp, plasma display, neontube, cathode ray tube, and nixie tube.
 10. The electronic lighted dieof claim 1, which further includes branding indicia.
 11. An electroniclighted die comprised of: at least one six-sided outer shell containinga viscous liquid; a sphere contained within said viscous liquid; a adisplay unit contained within said sphere, said display unit capable ofdisplaying a random number within a defined range generated by amicroprocessor.
 12. The electronic lighted of claim 11, wherein saidouter shell is half-mirrored.
 13. The electronic lighted of claim 11,wherein said outer shell has a surface treatment selected from a groupconsisting of transparent, partially transparent, tinted, clouded,reflective, a film, holographic treatment, embossing and any combinationthereof.
 14. The electronic lighted of claim 11, wherein said viscousliquid is selected from a group consisting of oil, water, spirits,tinted water, tinted oil, tinted spirits, colloidal mixtures and anycombination thereof.
 15. The electronic lighted die of claim 11, whereinsaid sphere has a surface selected from a group consisting oftransparent, partially transparent, tinted, clouded, reflective, a filmand any combination thereof.
 16. The electronic lighted die of claim 11,wherein said sphere has a shape selected from a group consisting of afaceted ball, octagonal, square, rectangular, tetrahedron, hexahedron,octahedron, dodecahedron, icosahedrons, polyhedron, square, rectangular,oval, pentagonal, hexagonal and combinations thereof.
 17. The electroniclighted die of claim 11, wherein said display unit has at least onelight source for displaying said random number.
 18. The electroniclighted die of claim 17, wherein said at least one light source areselected from the group consisting of light emitting diode, organiclight emitting diode, electroluminescent display, incandescent lamp,plasma display, neon tube, cathode ray tube, and nixie tube.
 19. Theelectronic lighted die of claim 11, which further includes brandingindicia.
 20. An electronic lighted die comprised of: at least outershell containing a viscous liquid, said outer shell having a shapeselected from a group consisting of a skull, a nugget, a diamond, ahead, automobile, a jack-o-lantern, a pumpkin, a snowman, Santa Claus, acartoon character, a heart, a branded product image, a celebrity image,a globe, a regular geometric shape, an irregular geometric shape and anycombination thereof; a sphere contained within said viscous liquid; a adisplay unit contained within said sphere, said display unit capable ofdisplaying a random number within a defined range generated by amicroprocessor.